Sam Harris Interview: Facts, Values and a Place for the Profound

This was very interesting. We also learn some interesting facts about Sam. He’s currently working on an experiment to determine if religious beliefs hold the same cognitive resonance as believing in facts about tangible things. He’s started a project called “The Reason Project” which is about promoting secularism and science. Among the board members is Bill Maher. He also experimented with hallucinogenics for religious experience and is going to be a father in January.

Great link rab. Lots of good interviews… so far I’ve only had time to watch Sam’s and Pinker’s but will go back some time in the next few days to watch some of the others, like Dennett’s, Atkins’, Churchland’s and Ramachandran’s.

Was it just me or did you get the impression that Sam is more concerned with developing a philosophy of mind/consciousness using science to buttress his premises and conclusions as opposed to doing the science and seeing where it leads him?

I thought the question that Bingham asks all of his interviewees: Who, from history, would you like to go back in time and have dinner with? was informative in regard to who these “candles” view as historically relevant in their lives. I was rather shocked that Sam said Jesus… Perhaps it was a joke on the notion of having dinner (or supper) with someone long since deceased… one would think he’d pick someone we know for certain, actually existed…

Great link rab. Lots of good interviews… so far I’ve only had time to watch Sam’s and Pinker’s but will go back some time in the next few days to watch some of the others, like Dennett’s, Atkins’, Churchland’s and Ramachandran’s.

Was it just me or did you get the impression that Sam is more concerned with developing a philosophy of mind/consciousness using science to buttress his premises and conclusions as opposed to doing the science and seeing where it leads him?

I thought the question that Bingham asks all of his interviewees: Who, from history, would you like to go back in time and have dinner with? was informative in regard to who these “candles” view as historically relevant in their lives. I was rather shocked that Sam said Jesus… Perhaps it was a joke on the notion of having dinner (or supper) with someone long since deceased… one would think he’d pick someone we know for certain, actually existed…

I think Sam wants to know and understand how ingrained religious belief is in the mind. Do most religious people accept god, miracles, heaven and hell, etc. as real things as easily as they accept tables, chairs, etc. ? I find that a fascinating experiment and I hope the results are out soon.

I wonder who I’d like to meet. I would also pick Jesus. If he did exist, he wasnt’ the man portrayed in the New Testament. Chances are he was like the one discussed here. He probably not only had sex with Mary Magnoline, but probably several other women in his flock, including the wives of Peter and Andrew. If I could go in a time machine and come back with proof of the real Jesus, I wonder what sort of affect it would have on Christianity as a whole. Or what affect it would have on me personally. I’m sure some would label me as the whore depicted in the Book of Revelation.

I would also pick Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Carl Jung.

Those living today, I’d have to think about it, if we’re talking about most smart and/or wise…

I wonder who I’d like to meet. I would also pick Jesus. If he did exist, he wasnt’ the man portrayed in the New Testament. Chances are he was like the one discussed here. He probably not only had sex with Mary Magnoline, but probably several other women in his flock, including the wives of Peter and Andrew. If I could go in a time machine and come back with proof of the real Jesus, I wonder what sort of affect it would have on Christianity as a whole. Or what affect it would have on me personally. I’m sure some would label me as the whore depicted in the Book of Revelation.

Perhaps it was a joke on the notion of having dinner (or supper) with someone long since deceased… one would think he’d pick someone we know for certain, actually existed…

Who would you pick, R.?

Who would any of us pick?

I hate watching other organisms eat. It reminds me too much of what it’s all about. Laugh and the world laughs with you. Eat, and you eat alone. Get really pissed off, and urination.

rab: He probably not only had sex with Mary Magnoline, but probably several other women in his flock, including the wives of Peter and Andrew. If I could go in a time machine and come back with proof of the real Jesus, I wonder what sort of affect it would have on Christianity as a whole. Or what affect it would have on me personally. I’m sure some would label me as the whore depicted in the Book of Revelation.

Are you saying you would fuck Jesus like an animal to see if it brought you closer to god?
I thought the question was who, from history, would you like to have dinner with, but you pose a more intriguing question: who in history would you like to fuck?

As a side note: I think the broad’s name was Mary Magdalene… but I like your spelling… brings to mind an old tire or brand of car oil.

Oh, and you only mentioned four people… or does Jesus count as two? He being the son and the father rolled into one, according to the myth and all. Like a Certs mint, he’s two.. two men in one. Taking this conjecture way too far, I wouldn’t waste a trip in a time machine on a highly probable myth-man nor even an opportunity to meet—let alone fuck—an actual bearded hebrew in the first century CE living before the invention of toothpaste myself. But you go grrrrl!

On a not totally unrelated subject, do you have a good home recipe for new england clam chowder?

Well, whore was a strong word. I meant that if I found evidence that the Jesus that inspired the New Testament turned out to be just another wacky nymphomaniac cult leader, then they would compare me to one of those characters, either in the OT or the NT, who turned against god and worked for Satan. Isn’t there a character in the NT in Revelation called the Whore of Babylon or something like that? Or maybe a Jezebel?

Now, about historical characters I’d like to fuck, can we include stars of stage and screen?